Paul Grace - Operation Hurricane

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At 8.00 a.m. on Friday 3 October 1952, Britain's first atomic bomb was detonated in the hold of a surplus frigate, HMS Plym, moored in the Montebello Islands, 50 miles off the North West Coast of Western Australia. The blast vaporised the Plym, produced a mushroom cloud 2 miles high, and covered the islands and parts of the Australian mainland with fallout. The test, codenamed Operation Hurricane, was the culmination of years of top-secret planning in London and Canberra and months of clandestine preparations at the site. One of the largest peacetime military operations in Australian history, its success shifted the balance of power in the Cold War and briefly rejuvenated the fading British Empire.

Painstakingly pieced together from declassified government documents and first-person accounts by surviving participants, Operation Hurricane tells the story of Britain's first nuclear test from the point of view of the men on the ground: soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians. It delves into the historical context of the Cold War and examines the controversial legacy of the atomic tests, including the impact of fallout on servicemen, Aboriginal
peoples and the environment, and Australia's relationship with the United Kingdom.

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Paul Grace was born in Subiaco and brought up in Perth, Sydney and San Diego, California. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English from Curtin University and 20 years of experience as a bookseller and broadcaster in community radio. Operation Hurricane: The story of Britain's first atomic test in Australia and the legacy that remains is his first book. It was shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards 2024 Book of the Year and the 2024 Margaret Medcalf Award for excellence in research and use of State Archives.

Paul’s reason for writing the book is personal: his late grandfather, Flight Lieutenant Ron Grace RAAF, was a pilot who flew security patrols and 'coastal monitoring sorties’ (looking for fallout) before and after the test.

Paul lives in Bassendean with his wife and dog, a kelpie/border collie cross. 

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Members and guests are warmly invited to join us before the meeting for drinks and nibbles. 

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